A foreign national, whose nationality was not specified, was executed Thursday by Iranian justice for his participation in the vast anti-government demonstrations in January, according to the Mizan agency, an organ of the judiciary.
The government acknowledged more than 3,000 deaths during the January protests, attributing the violence to “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel. NGOs based abroad have spoken of a repression that has left thousands dead.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized US President Donald Trump's economic pressure plan against Tehran on Thursday, calling it a continuation of “policies doomed to failure”.
“The so-called 'Economic D-Day' aims to distract from America's own crisis: unprecedented debt and rising borrowing costs. Continuing with policies doomed to failure will only lead to further defeat and hostility from the Iranians,” the minister said on X.
“US economic terrorism threatens the international economy and the sovereignty of countries around the world,” he added.
Iran warned Gulf countries on Wednesday that any aid provided to US forces would be considered direct support for Washington's military operations against the Islamic Republic. In a statement relayed by the Mehr agency, the head of the Iranian armed forces, General Ali Abdollahi, warned that any form of assistance or facilitation granted to the American army would be considered participation in actions carried out against Iran.
For his part, Donald Trump has toughened his tone towards countries likely to come to the aid of Tehran. The American president threatened heavy economic sanctions against any state allowing its banks, businesses, airports or public institutions to provide support to Iran. In a message published on Truth Social, he promised “terrible economic repercussions” to countries that offered, in any form, a lifeline to the Islamic Republic.
Australia expressed its anger on Wednesday after Israel's decision to end the criminal investigation into the death of Zomi Frankcom, an Australian humanitarian killed in April 2024 in Gaza with six other members of World Central Kitchen during an airstrike. Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced the summons of the Israeli ambassador and denounced a decision considered particularly hurtful for the victim's family and humanitarian workers.
Israel had admitted that the strike had caused the deaths of the volunteers “inadvertently”, but the army ultimately decided not to open a criminal investigation. Canberra believes that this lack of prosecution does not meet expectations in terms of transparency and accountability, and calls for justice to be done for the victims.
The conflict in the Middle East also has repercussions on cultural life and international artists. In Abu Dhabi, two festivals which were to welcome Shakira and Christina Aguilera were canceled, while the United Arab Emirates remain regularly targeted by Iranian fire. Despite a drop in the intensity of attacks, tensions continue to disrupt the organization of major events in the Gulf.
Once again, the 20 Minutes editorial team is mobilizing to give you all the information on the Middle East. While the guns have fallen silent for the moment, the situation in the region is once again particularly tense between the United States and Iran but also between Israel and Turkey.
